Cohesio Group launches Robotics for Logistics in partnership with Geek+

Robots can help improve the efficiency of logistics operations, big and small. From improving floor operations of item picking, transportation and processing to generating warehouse layout reports to make your business more efficient, automation’s place in the future of logistics seems brighter by the day.

Future robotics innovation

Let robotics be the future of your business.

Warehousing and logistics robotics have been a long time coming. Heralded as the answer to e-commerce managers' prayers for reduced labour shortfall and lower operational costs, the automation age of the fourth industrial revolution has been slow to arrive in Australia. Industry 4.0, in which automation drives all aspects of commercial operations, is set to truly shake up the logistics sector.

Price Waterhouse Cooper estimates that automation technologies could contribute 14 per cent to global GDP by 2030. This stems in part from the lowered costs of robots as they become more common, but also from the precision they can bring to storage operations. McKinsey research shows future robotics innovation will lead units to have up to five times greater movement control than past configurations.

However, despite the benefits of robotic assistance in supply chain warehousing, there are some reservations about rolling out this technology on a widespread basis.

Exclusive partnership with Geek+

How can Cohesio Group bring robotics to your logistics organisation?

Our recent exclusive collaboration on a warehouse robotics project with logistics innovators Geek+ has seen co-created automated guidance vehicles (AGV) developed for item picking, moving and sorting. This has huge implications for the Australian market, with robotic assistance undoubtedly able to help streamline warehouse operations.

For example, a traditional goods-to-person deployment system would cost $15-20 million. With the automated guidance vehicle (AGV), advanced navigation and pick-and-move capabilities means this could drop to anywhere from $1-3 million. This will also help make the commercial supply chain more efficient.

What are the reservations around automated logistics?

Fear of automation is more a hindrance than the automation process itself, as demonstrated in a PwC survey 'Are robots really coming for our jobs?'. While 37 per cent of polled workers were worried about losing their jobs due to automation, data gleaned from labour forecasts for 29 OECD countries showed less than one in five workers would actually be impacted by the kind of robotics that would help to improve supply chain logistics.

These findings were supported by a McKinsey workforce skills survey that shows robots will improve our roles rather than take them - the supply chain of the future will need employees with greater social communication skills and higher cognitive ability.

So yes, automation will replace some jobs - but it's likely to create even more. As workers upskill and robotics are introduced, you'll find people moving away from menial labour and into more operational or oversight roles. This means your staff will be people-focused and add real value to your business.